Physical vs. Mental

me, pictured with Shen, after running the Ras Na Heireann in Davis Square, 2008!

Today is the day of the Boston Marathon!!! Congrats to my good friend Shen, who ran it in 4:39:23, her first marathon. Truly an inspiration.

A word on mental training- at this point in training I feel as though I am pretty much set physically- I have the routine down, I am leaner and more fit than I've been since track in college 7 years ago, I can run, bike, and swim further than ever in my life. But, I get bored. and lazy. and still give up easily if it hurts or if I'm tired. I skip workouts. I rationalize. Mentally, I am not prepared.

There are two parts to endurance training, and athletics in general: the mental and the physical. Mental training consists of endurance, plain and simple. It is about finishing the course, going the distance, not giving up, not listening to all the voices in your head telling you to walk or coast or stand in the pool. I have made progress in this area, but not enough. It's time to buckle down and get a move on.

When I think back to when I started swimming, my very first practices, while in the pool I would hear my mom's voice say, "what are you doing? you're not a swimmer! you're not an athlete. we aren't athletic. you're going to drown and get yourself killed for something stupid. don't be ridiculous, Heidi." Now, whether or not my mom ever actually said those things to me, or believes them (she doesn't), I still heard them in my head. And it panicked me, and made it difficult to do workouts. I would think of all the horrible ways I could die in a pool, and everything I would miss out on in such a lame death. But in the same thought I would think how ridiculous I was being, and say to myself "just stick your head in the water and swim, for petes sake, you whiny baby." That would make me laugh, and usually my head was under water so i'd then swallow some water and cough and have to start all over again, but the thought was there- suck it up, buck up, get it done. And now that I am so much more comfortable in the water, those negative death-thoughts are never present. I never hear them. The only thing I hear is "I can do this. this is so easy. MAN, i love to swim. I get to stretch my long frame completely and move my arms in perfect rhythm... I'm practically a mermaid." which then makes me laugh and sputter and I need to start all over again.

What I'm saying, and what I learned in track so many years ago in college, is that my body is so much more stronger than I give it credit for. If I could just boost my mental perseverance, I think I would amaze myself at what I can accomplish.

I always admired this mental trait in my friend Shen, who ran the marathon today. When given a task, she sets her nose to the ground and doesn't quit until it's done. A negative thought never enters her mind- I bet she was just as cheerful at the beginning of the marathon as she was at the end- she is that kind of person. Quitting or not finishing or walking are not options in her mind.

So, this is my task for the last 2 months of training. Suck it up, buck up, get it done. There is a course laid out, and it's my job to show up and run the course.

and have fun.